Fabric Formwork

Fabric-cast concrete involves casting concrete in forms made with flexible formwork. This provides the potential to produce forms that are both structurally efficient and architecturally exciting in a relatively inexpensive and practical manner. By careful shaping of the fabric it is possible to produce complex shapes that would otherwise be difficult and expensive to produce using conventional formwork systems. This book contains six essays that describe the collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh and East London, together with the Centre for Architectural and Structural Technology (CAST) at the University of Manitoba, in their detailed and practical research into concrete casting and formwork. Richly illustrated with photographs and diagrams and containing new and innovative research this book offers the architect, engineer and student inspiration and technical guidance in this re-emerging material

Concrete Panels: The 2009 Chelsea Flower Show

This short article reports on a collaborative project between senior architectural students and staff at the School of Arts, Culture and Environment at the University of Edinburgh and the School of Architecture and the Visual Arts University of East London. The team worked together to create a series of concrete panels for Paul Hensey’s design for the Fenchurch Urban Garden. The design required a series of panels with undulating forms flowing across the ground and rising vertically. The process to create these panels required a new technique to be developed using re-claimed sand from crushed concrete and a lightweight aggregate made from waste materials. The finished design won the Silver Gilt and Most Creative Garden Design Awards for the 2009 Chelsea Flower show